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All Rise...

Appellate Judge James A. Stewart is clicking for the truth—and going to the kitchen for some more coffee to do it.

The Charge

"An electric drill would be nice."—Josh Bernstein, on using
colonial construction methods to build a defense wall

Opening Statement

Josh Bernstein is back. He may not think of himself as another Indiana Jones,
but he kicks off Digging For The Truth: The Complete Season Two by
investigating a "real temple of doom." He ends the season by
investigating the failure of another person who's been called a "real-life
Indiana Jones": Lt. Col. Percy Fawcett of the Royal Geographic Society, who
disappeared fairly close to the lost cities he was seeking, likely unaware of
the evidence that was right under his nose.

Digging For The Truth, of course, is the History Channel show with
the tagline: "We're digging for the truth—and going to extremes to do
it!" In each episode, Josh tries to follow the paths or methods of the
ancients, while finding room for caving, scuba diving, hot air balloon rides,
and other decidedly modern extreme sporting activities. Whenever you think he's
going to deliver a straightforward account of archaeological progress, he'll
start shooting arrows from a moving chariot to try some of those Greek methods
of warfare himself.

His extreme means of recreating history bring in viewers: Mediaweek
notes that a 2007 episode drew an average of 2.1 million viewers, with History
Channel getting its highest season premiere ratings ever in the 18-49 and 25-54
brackets.

Facts of the Case

Digging For The Truth: The Complete Season Two contains 13 episodes.
What does Josh do next? Here's a rundown:

Disc One "The Real Temple of Doom"—No one's
ripping hearts out here, fortunately, but there's an ancient pilgrimage site
where lots of hallucinogens were ingested. Josh takes in some San Pedro cactus
brew, hunts crocodiles, and handles an anaconda.

"America's Pyramids"—How did pyramid-building Native
Americans chase away the Conquistadors along the Mississippi River? Josh shoots
at chain mail with a bow and arrow, carries a basket of rocks on his back, and
has a potentially deadly allergic reaction to fire ants.

"Stonehenge Secrets Revealed"—As he tries to figure out why
British ancients upgraded a wooden circle into Stonehenge, Josh makes crop
circles, digs a ditch with an antler pick, goes rappelling in a copper mine,
opens a stinging nettle branch to make rope, and attends a summer solstice
ceremony.

"The Vikings: Voyage to America"—Why did the Vikings start a
settlement in Newfoundland, and why did they leave? Josh sails on a Viking-style
vessel and tours a Viking settlement in Greenland.

Disc Two "Roanoke: The Lost Colony"—In search
of clues to the colonists' fate, Josh climbs a tree to take a core sample,
paraglides over Roanoke Island, visits a Lumbi pow wow, camps out at Fort
Raleigh, and takes DNA samples.

"Cleopatra: The Last Pharoah"—Was Cleopatra the seductress
of Roman texts or the philosopher and scientist of Arab texts? Josh faces a
cobra, joins an archaeological dig, and goes diving into Alexandria Harbor to
seek her lost palace. Whatever the answer, the actress portraying Cleopatra in
the reenactments is enough of a knockout to tilt the scales toward the
Romans.

"City of the Gods"—What secrets are held in the ruins of
Teotihuacan? Human sacrifice, for starters. Josh gets a nasty bruise but is
otherwise unscathed when he plays the ancient ball game used to choose
candidates for burial alive, takes a balloon ride to check out the city's grid
layout, and goes underground a couple more times.

Disc Three "The Real Queen of Sheba"—Josh
visits a church carved in the shape of a cross; makes some frankincense; nibbles
on kat, which "feels like about six shots of espresso"; goes through a
military checkpoint; and finds himself surrounded by armed tribesmen.

"Troy: Of Gods and Goddesses"—Checking out Homer's
Iliad and Odyssey, Josh visits the ancient ruins of Troy and
Mycenae, which were located with the help of the epic poems, goes scuba diving
to find some ancient discarded pottery, and tries his hand at archery from a
moving chariot.

"The Da Vinci Code: Bloodlines"—Josh sets out to prove that
the bestselling novel was indeed fiction. Josh does some rappelling to the site
where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, but he's mostly checking out DNA samples
and documents of a secret society.

Disc Four "The Real Sin City: Sodom &
Gomorrah"—Josh seeks the genesis of a biblical cautionary tale in the
Dead Sea region, riding a camel, camping with a Bedouin tribe, crawling into a
burial chamber, climbing a cliff face, and lighting some smelly brimstone.

"Last Cities of the Amazon"—Josh follows the trail of Lt.
Col. Percy Fawcett of the Royal Geographic Society, who disappeared while
searching for a lost city he called "Z." Josh follows the dense jungle
path by air, stopping at a farming area and a remote village.

The Evidence

In his exploration of the Roanoke Island mystery, Josh Bernstein camps out at
Fort Raleigh, using the canvas and wool bedding that the colonists themselves
might have used. It's not quite the same situation, though. The site's now a
park, with a staffer arriving to bring coffee and wake Josh up, and it's not the
unknown, frightening situation the colonists must have faced. "It was
quiet—really peaceful. It was actually very nice," Josh says of the
experience.

Thus, Josh proves that the Roanoke colonists would have stuck around if only
someone had brought them coffee every morning. For want of a barista, the colony
was lost. Just kidding, but the scene shows, albeit accidentally, that it's hard
to get into the minds of people who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago.
Sure, Josh can camp where the colonists camped, but he knows he'll be safe and
sound—and caffeineated—in the morning. With one small scene, Josh
reminds us that some historical mysteries will always remain lost.

And that episode about The Da Vinci Code? Did anyone really need Josh
to explain that the novel is fiction? I think what really clinched it for me was
the word "novel," which tends to imply fiction.

Having started off with the two worst moments in Digging For The Truth:
The Complete Season Two, I can say that those lows existed, but were
surprisingly rare. Sure, the show seems at times to be more about "What
will Josh do next?" than about the historical evidence and it's harder to
believe that the intrepid explorer still has "wow" moments with each
season, but it's usually a fun ride.

"America's Pyramids," the story of the Conquistadors' failure
along the Mississippi, was the strongest hour here, although the finale,
"Lost Cities of the Amazon," handles Percy Fawcett's story with a
surprisingly low-key, thoughtful approach.

As with the first season, the Panasonic HD Varicam mostly looks good, but
has its variations for underwater, underground, or night scenes. I'll reiterate
my complaint that a subtitles option would come in handy for anyone using
Digging For The Truth for educational purposes.

Fans might enjoy the 15-minute interview with Josh Bernstein, but it's a
typical extra—with Josh answering questions from an unseen
interrogator—even if he's perched on a rock while doing it.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

There's the occasional passing sexual reference—such as mention of a
"phallic" ceremonial rattle—or discussion of human sacrifice.
These things are kept low-key, but it's worth noting if you're watching with the
whole family.

Closing Statement

If you've ever seen Digging For The Truth, you know what to expect
here. Josh Bernstein acknowledges that in Season Two, the show's producers knew
people were looking for that "What will Josh do next?" moment, and
delivered. For the most part, they delivered it well.

The Verdict

Not guilty, even if it leaves you with the suspicion that Josh Bernstein
takes his rappelling hook and his bow and arrow to the grocery, just in
case.

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